The Task Force mandated by the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission to discuss a practical way forward for the development of Multi-annual fisheries Management Plans under the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), has concluded its work under the Greek Presidency. Today it agreed on a report, which contains recommendations on the core elements that should appear in Multiannual Plans, depending on the level of complexity of the fisheries concerned.

The Multi-annual Management Plans are key tools for the management of fisheries resources under the reformed CFP aiming at fishing sustainability.

The conclusion of the Task Force’s work is a success for the Greek Presidency, since the issue was one of its priorities for the fisheries sector.

In particular, for Mediterranean, where fishing is multi-species, the implementation of Multi-annual Management Plans will support the recovery of fishing stocks. Therefore, the achievement of Maximum Sustainable Yield, the main objective of the reformed CFP, will be reached and fishing activity will become more profitable.

The report will be discussed at a future meeting of the Council and European Parliament.

On the occasion of this agreement, the President of the AgriFish Council, Athanasios Tsaftaris, made the following statement:

“The finalisation of multi-annual management plans is another success of the Greek Presidency under the reformed CFP. Multi-annual Management Plans, as a key fisheries management tool, will support the stocks to recover and fishing activity to become more sustainable and profitable”.